All-summer-long LGBTQ playlist

Music

by Gregg Shapiro

Queer singer-songwriter Siahas been messing with her appearance on her album covers for years. It
didn't just start with 2014's 1000 Forms of Fear or either
version of 2016's This Is Acting. For
example, for 2010's We Are Born her
face was peppered with colored dots and colorful pipe cleaners were woven into
her hair, making her look like a hipster Medusa. But it can all be traced back
to her third album, 2008's Some People Have Real Problems
(Monkey Puzzle/Concord), newly
reissued in its first-ever vinyl pressing. On the cover, Sia is grasping a trio
of magic markers with which she has drawn a heart and lines on her face. As for
what's contained inside, the songs on Some People Have Real Problems
marked something of a turning point for Sia. Sounding
more confident than ever, in total control of her powerful instrument, Sia belts
out original numbers "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine," "Day Too
Soon," a cover of The Kinks' "I Go To Sleep" and the CD hidden
track "Buttons." She's also joined by Beck on "Academia"
and "Death by Chocolate." It's easy to understand why, shortly after
the release of this album, she became an in-demand guest vocalist on other
people's albums, and a sought-after songwriter who would go on to provide hit
songs for others.

King of the key change, the newly officially out Barry
Manilowhas released one of his best
albums in many years. The news of Manilow's gayness might not have shocked
devoted Fanilows, and few can dispute his longstanding love affair with his
hometown, which he celebrates affectionately on This Is My Town: Songs of
New York(Decca), a career high. Manilow's schmaltzy vibrato is in full effect
on this soaring set of originals and covers. The best of the Manilow tunes
include the show-stopping title cut and the bright and bouncy "Coney
Island," as well as "I Dig New York" and "On the Roof."
Manilow still has decent interpretive skills, as you can hear on the "Downtown/Uptown"
pairing, the Bernstein/Comden Green composition "Lonely Town" and the
eight-song "NYC Medley," which is as jam-packed as a rush-hour subway
car.

To call the phenomenal No Shape
(Matador) by the brilliant Perfume
Genius(aka Mike Hadreas) his
most accessible album to date is really saying something. But it's true. By no
means abandoning the subversive nature of his previous albums, including 2012's
Put Your Back N 2 It (including the song "Hood," which
featured the now-deceased gay porn-star Arpad Miklos in the video) and 2014's Too
Bright (featuring the incredible single "Queen"),
No Shape sounds like an
altogether more soulful effort. There is another side to opener "Otherside."
"Slip Away" is the first of the album's irresistible future-pop
numbers, such as "Wreath," the stunning "Sides" (a duet
with Weyes Blood), and the modern soul of "Die 4 You." Perfume
Genius, Car Seat Headrest, Frank Ocean, John Grant, Shamir, and a few others
are redefining queer male pop music and setting the stage for what's to come.

Palehound, led by Ellen Kempner, a lesbian singer-songwriter
in the vein of straight artists Elliott Smith and Liz Phair, as well as queer
contemporaries SOAK and Tegan and Sara, returns with the outstanding second
album A Place I'll Always Go (Polyvinyl).
A song cycle of love and loss, the album features "If You Met Her," "Turning
21," "Flowing Over," and the heart-wrenching "Feeling Fruit,"
followed by "At Night I'm All Right with You," which conjures Angelo
Badalamenti and Julee Cruise just in time for the Twin Peaks
revival.

Young, queer "nu-folk" goddess Marika Hackman
and guest backing band the Big Moon raise a ruckus
on Hackman's second album I'm Not Your Man
(Sub Pop). Opening with a laugh
and inviting listeners in on the joke, "Boyfriend" is the musical
equivalent of Gloria Steinem's "like a fish needs a bicycle" quote.
The only difference is that you can dance to "Boyfriend." A close
chum of queer model-actress Cara Delavigne, Hackman explores a range of female
relationships throughout the album, with songs including "Good Intentions,"
"Time's Been Reckless," "Eastbound Train" and the
incredible "My Lover Cindy."

Produced by Viktor Krauss (brother of Alison), Love Comes
Back Around(Graylin)
by lesbian singer-songwriter Jennifer Knapp,
who famously began her career as a Christian
musician, is the third album she has released as an openly queer artist. Now
back in Nashville after living in Australia for several years, Knapp can be
heard embracing her country side. Songs such as "Girl Thing," "Roll
Over Me" and "Roman Holiday" are among Knapp's mostly proudly
out numbers.

You might not expect to find alt-metal band Linkin Park
in a column about LGBTQ music, but here they are.
The explanation goes like this: the band's 2012 album Living Things featured
acollaboration with gay singer-songwriter
Owen Pallett on the song "I'll Be Gone." Five years later, Linkin
Park's new album One More Light(WB) features another unexpected collaboration. The
song "Heavy," featuring vocals by Kiiara, was co-written by gay hit
pop songwriter Justin Tranter. That song, "Sorry for Now," and a few
others on the album, are distinct departures from Linkin Park's trademark
rap/rock sound.

Perfume Genius performs on July 18 & 19 at The
Independent in San Francisco. Marika Hackman performs on July 31 at Starline
Social Club in Oakland.